Boy band BTS sold 4.17 million copies of its latest album “Arirang” within a week of its release — the highest number of first-week sales for the septet.

With the latest achievement, BTS has bested its previous first-week sales record of 3.37 million, set by its fourth full-length album “Map of the Soul: 7” in 2020.


“Arirang,” the band's fifth full-length album, sold a million copies within 10 minutes of its release and 3.98 million copies within a day on March 20.

The album peaked on the Apple Music top albums chart in 102 regions around the world last Saturday and did the same for the weekly top album ranking on Japan's Oricon charts.

With HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk at the helm, “Arirang” marks BTS’s first full-group album release in nearly four years and is a collaboration between the septet and a star-studded lineup of producers, including Diplo, Ryan Tedder and El Guincho.

Every one of the album's songs, including the lead track “Swim,” sat in the top 14 places on Spotify's Daily Top Song Global chart right after their release on March 20. “Swim” took the No. 1 spot.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]